So, I was all set to make sambar and had the dal ready. I have never made sambar without tomatoes and to my dismay I was completely out of tomatoes. Now that never happens because I normally have at least a small piece of tomato sticking somewhere in the fridge not that the small piece is going to help, but still – you know.

I also have this bad habit where it is very hard to change the menu I have planned in my head . There was no going back and the onion sambar that my mom makes suddenly crossed my mind. Made a phone call and got the recipe and I was happy. The sambar also has garlic and that is something I have never added before and it imparts a ton of flavor. I have made this sambar multiple times since then and it goes with rice, idli, dosa and so on. Off to the recipe.